Well as you can see I haven't posted in ages, but that's not because things have been slow. Blogging for me is something I like to put a lot of thought into but my thoughts have been poured out into the new work and new neighborhood and new church and new campus. Yep, a LOT of new. So I thought I'd keep it simple for me and you by just sharing about our thanksgiving.
Maik has found an awesome apartment right near the HKU campus and so of course we packed 20 people into the living room and had a feast! Some friends from church, some old friends, and some new ones all joined together for this fun holiday. In explaining it to some "first time Thanksgivingers", I told them Thanksgiving is awesome because it doesn't seem to get clouded with all the materialism and paraphernalia that sometimes gets in the way of Christmas, but it's about FOOD and FAMILY, no strings attached. We simply get together, enjoy time together and share about what we are thankful for, as we reflect on the year.
I have an oven that is approximately 13 1/2" by 13 1/2" and some how I stuffed an entire turkey in there. I hunted down some sweet potatoes at the awesome local market (ok they look a little different but taste the same) and downloaded recipes from the Pioneer Woman, Food Network, and Real Simple. Real Simple was for the turkey because, well, I was afraid of what I would do to the thing, and so I found peace with that name. I did not have the time nor the kitchen space to be "brinin' and bastin'" and the bird turned out just fine if I do say so myself. Poor guy's little tail got a little burnt from touching the top of the oven, but it's nothing that a little foil couldn't fix.
(Thanks to Tim Lim for the lovely food photography!) Doesn't that just look yummy. I didn't get to taste it but I'm sure it was delicious. After playing a game of "get to know you bingo" (super fun) we ate and then had people write what they were thankful for on a festive little leaf and then we read them later and guessed who they belonged to. I love hearing what people have to say and what has stuck out to them over the year. Such a sweet moment!
Here's some of the crew at the feast. I can't remember if this was before or after the rousing game of SPIN UNO. If you have never played that then, you just have to come to HK and play with these guys. They make it fun.
The next day, we had our community group and I made leftover Turkey Pot Pie :) I used my leftover "perfect pie crust" from Pioneer lady (yes I made a pecan pie and added chocolate chips, of course!) and some other leftover veggies, etc and threw it all in. I had bought a new pan that I thought would fit in "baby oven" and it of course did not, so, I wrapped foil around the cracked oven door and she cooked just fine. [just letting you see into my world for a minute. my world is often revolving around a mini-kitchen].
For our second batch of leftovers we headed over to have turkey sandwiches with the precious couple who started the HKUICF (International Christian Fellowship).
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| ICF meeting |
They are both from other countries in Asia but chose to move here and work on campus so they could open the door to a fellowship like this, which is vastly needed since there are no English-speaking fellowships on campus and many of the students prefer English. Their labor has paid off for sure and they will return home this coming summer. Maik and I truly are blessed that they invited us to continue leading it! They have two young children and we sang some hymns with them and also shared about what we were Thankful for this year. They have adopted thanksgiving into their own family traditions and maybe even made some improvements on it!
So, we survived Thanksgiving in Hong Kong. It's interesting that the grocery stores import some more stuff for stuffing, frozen turkeys, gravy and pecans at this time of the year, but I'm thankful for that. It's the little things, right?
I'm thankful that He continues to sustain me, that I am not alone but have a companion, that my family supports me, and for all of you friends who care enough to read about my life. Wish you were here!
